Alone on a Hard Path
by Jaggedwing
Summary: A she-cat exiled by her own, has to forge a living with the lake Clan.
1. Chapter 1

The spread wings of her mother's pokemon was the first thing that greeted Cadence's gaze as she blinked open her eyes and groggily sat up.

Once Cadence shifted her position, it alerted her mother, Awen, that she was awake. Awen looked down at her with a tired expression, as if a Drowzy had tried put her to sleep. A light brown paw reached up behind Awen and batted her ear.

In response, Cadence shook her head. Peering around her mother, she saw amber eyes looking at her.

Nutan stared back at her with wide eyes. Silently, he raised a paw and touched her nose.

Cadence shook her head once more and looked wide-eyed at him. Why does he keep doing that? She thought.

Awen staggered to her paws. "Keep an eye on the kits." She instructed her pokémon, who nodded.

Cadence was mesmerized by her mother's Swoobat. She stared at it, and it stared back. Nutan just looked at both of them, then tentavely stretched out a tiny paw and poked the Swoobat's wing. It didn't move, but turned his head to look Nutan directly in the eyes. The latter blinked slowly, not moving. The Swoobat took a step closer to him. Nutan just blinked slowly again.

Cadence grew bored of watching and decided to leave the den. Once she did, her eyes dilated from the sunlight and she squeezed them shut.

A small, swift shape darted at her face. "Watch out!" A high-pitched, yet masculine, voice called.

Even before a heartbeat passed, Cadence was knocked to the ground, another cat on top of her. There was a grunt and the cat clambered off her, embarrassed.

"S-sorry..." He stuttered. The silvery she-cat, after picking herself up from the ground, was finally able to look at the new tom.

He bowed his dark furred head and mumbled, "I'm sorry,"

Cadence scrambled to her paws. "You should keep better control of your pokémon."

Bat glared at his Zubat and then looked back at Cadence. "I'm Bat by the way."

"Cadence."

"So," Bat said, licking his chest fur flat, "You're one of Awen's new kits?"

Cadence blushed. "You could say that."

Bat, noticing her blush, looked away and shuffled his paws awkwardly. Zubat let out a teasing squeak and they both glared at him.

Bat straightened up and shook his pelt out, "I need to go see what needs to be done." He started to walk away with his Zubat at his shoulder. He glance at Cadence,"See you around!" He said with a smile. She just stood there smiling stupidly.

Her thoughts were broken by her mother's Swoobat staggering out of the nursery with Nutan following dully.

"Get back in the den." The Swoobat told her.

Cadence sighed at the thought of going back into the den when there was so much to explore out here. The leader's den looked promising. The Swoobat nudged her impatiently.

She looked back and shot a quick glare at it before she walked into the den. Once inside, she gazed around the interior fully for the first time.

The other nursery queen, Kadie, was curled up in her mossy nest.

Cadence looked at her and saw that her belly was swollen, ready for kits. As she took a step closer to her, the Swoobat placed a wing in front of her.

"Stay back."

Cadence scowled and padded back to her mother's nest to curl up. Why can't I do anything fun! Amber eyes peered over the rim of the nest and stared at her blankly.

Cadence glanced up at them and sighed, annoyed. "Yes, Nutan?"

The eyes vanished and were replaced with furry paws. Cadence lifted her head and looked over the nest. Her brother was seated calmly on the hard packed earth, his tail laid across his front paws.

"Um.." She looked at him, "Would you like to lay down in the nest with me?"

Nutan turned and looked at her with a blank expression.

Cadence shrugged and made room in the nest. "You sure?"

He got up and pawed at the nest curiously. Cadence met her brother's gaze evenly. "You changed your mind, then?"

Nutan just hand a dull look in his eyes and looked as if he wasn't paying attention to and thing.

Cadence rolled her eyes and was about to fall back to sleep when a cat screeched from the camp.

"Merzi was attacked!"

xXx

**A/N: Hey guys! This is a PokemonxWarriors story! This was co-written by Drysi Eirlys, so go check her out! If you got any questions, please leave a review! This will be updated when we can write it. I also have a Warriors story, the first chapter of that's up! Drysi also has some amazing stories! We would love it if anyone reading this story would stay and read more when it's posted!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: We do not own Warriors or Pokemon**

Cadence skidded into the clearing in time to see the deputy, Raelan, drag the wounded apprentice through the entrance. A Maril was following closely behind them, only slightly wounded.

Raelan muttered something to her Meowth and it scrambled into the medicine den. Cadence padded closer to them and saw that the apprentice, Merzi, had a large gash on his flank and was breathing heavily.

"Out of the way! Give him some space!" The medicine cat, Scout, dashed out of his den with his Ralts following. The Ralts had her hands full of herbs and dropped a few leaves while running. Merzi moaned and twitched slightly.

Once Scout got there, he inspected Merzi while the Ralts looked over Maril. Cadence held her breath, worried for Merzi.

Scout looked at Raelan after looking over Merzi, "Bring him to my den." The deputy nodded and bit the apprentice's scruff.

Then they all headed towards the medicine cat den. Once Merzi's tail tip vanished into the den, Cadence started to head toward it. Ducking her head inside, she saw the Ralts stacking herbs in one corner of the den. She was about half way in when someone tugged on her tail, pulling her backwards out of the den.

She twisted in annoyance. "What?"

She turned to see her mom, who shook her head disapprovingly. "Let them alone."

Cadence sighed and looked back at the den once more.

"Come with me," Awen padded over to a group of warriors. "Would you like to meet your father?"

Cadence perked her ears. Father? One of the warriors, a black tom, beckoned them. Cadence shyly walked over to him with her mother.

"Cadence, this is your father, Simon." Awen introduced them. The tom, Simon, smiled at her. Cadence blushed and shuffled her paws awkwardly.

Simon looked at her, "So, you're my special kit."

"Ehmehheh." She mumbled, embarrassed. Her father grinned yet again.

Awen ushered Nutan forward. "Say hi to your father." Nutan just looked at his father and blinked.

Simon glanced at Awen. "Has Scout checked him yet?"

Awen sighed and shook her head, "He's too busy with Merzi." The tom turned back to his friends. "Make sure Scout sees to him. No kit of mine will have problems."

Awen sighed again, "Okay," She turned to the kits, "We must go see Scout."

Cadence clung to her father. "But I wanna stay here!"

Simon ushered her to Awen, "No, you need to go make sure your the best you can be."

"But Nutan's annoying and the medicine den stinks!"

"Too bad." Awen responded, "We need to go."

Cadence looked at her father for assistance but he just shrugged. She then sighed dramatically and followed her brother and mother to the medicine cat den. Nutan stared at her eerily as they entered.

Scout was arranging herbs when they walked in. "What?" He asked.

Awen gestured to Nutan. "Simon wants you to examine him."

When Scout stepped into his face, Nutan didn't even blink. The medicine cat stepped back and observed the kit. Nutan's gaze was blank and unnerving.

Scout shooed his family out of the den. Once everyone left, Scout did some tested on Nutan. Like if he could concentrate on one small thing. The kit stared at the tom blankly instead.

The medicine cat hummed and waved a paw in Nutan's face. To which the tomkit responded by licking in. Scout put a look of disgust on his face and wiped his paw on the ground. He finished that and turned his attention back to Nutan.

Said kit was looking at a herb by his paw and poked it. Scout frowned. Autisim...He then called the family back in.

Cadence was the first to bound in, having been hovering outside the entrance.

"Where is your mother?" Scout asked, "I will also need your father."

"Mom? Dad?" The silver kit screeched. They came rushing in, looked first at Cadence then Scout. The medicine cat gestured to Nutan, who was examining his paw.

"He seems to have a special case..." He trailed off.

"Of what?" Awen asked, worried.

Scout met her wild gaze, "He's autistic."

"And what's that mean?" Simon growled.

"It's..." Scout sighed, "It means that he has impaired social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, he's restricted and has repetitive behavior.

"Huh?" Cadence cocked her head, eyes wide.

Awen wrapped her tail around her daughter. "It means your brother's... 'special'"

Nutan stared at his sister with wide, unblinking eyes and she felt her skin crawl.

Simon took a step closer to the medicine cat. "What does that mean for my son?" He asked.

Scout backed up, obviously scared of the larger warrior.

"Um..." He searched for the right words, not wanting to anger Simon.

Awen rested a paw on her mate's back to calm him down. Simon sat back down next to his mate, still glaring at Scout.

Cadence grew bored and padded out of den. "Mom! I'm gonna go play with the apprentices!"

**A/N: Yay! Another chapter up! Thank you winxclubfan1 for reviewing! And I'm so happy you like this story! Any guesses to Cadence's Pokemon? **

**Remember, this was co-written by Drysi Eirlys! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, I'm REALLY sorry for the late update. Snap said, and I quote****_ 'The only reason this is up is because I decided that peasants need petty reasons to celebrate. High Queen Snap totally does not feel sorry for a late update. Totally not_****.'**

**That's Snap for you! Happy late Christmas! And happy holidays! On to the story! Places R&R!**

XxXxX

Cadence slide to a halt in front of the apprentice den. Peeking in she saw three apprentices huddled together. Bat was among them. He beckoned for her to come in. Blushing slightly, Cadence went and sat by Bat and a reddish she-cat.

The she-cat stared at Cadence suspiciously. "Why is a kit here?"

"Clam down Keiko." Bat said, defending Cadence. His Zubat nodding.

Keiko shrugged. "I was just asking."

Cadence glared slightly at her, muttering, "It didn't sound like it..." To herself.

The reddish apprentice pricked her ears. "What?"

Cadence just turned to her and put on an innocent smile, "Nothing!" Keiko turned back to the group and shrugged to herself.

"Whatever, the kit can stay." Bat grinned at Cadence.

"How do you like the camp so far?" He asked.

She shrugged. "It's cool."

"Just wait 'till you're an apprentice!"

"Bat! Keiko!" Called a voice from the camp clearing. The two looked towards the entrance to the den and got up.

"I wonder what's going on?" Cadence muttered and followed them.

Once she stepped out of the den, she saw the two walk up to a warrior.

The warrior gestured to the center of camp. "Keiko, get your Pokémon."

The apprentice bowed to him and went off to go get her Sealeo. "What about me, Palmira?" Bat asked him.

Palmira glanced at him. "Oh. Go get your Zubat." Bat's eyes gleamed. He looked up at Palmira.

Palmira turned to Cadence. "Why are you here?" Said kit stared up at him.

Palmira snorted. "Answer me, whelp."

Cadence tilted her head. Welp? What's that? "I was just wondering what was going on." She finally replied.

"You'll find out soon." The warrior snapped. Cadence shrunk back a little at his harsh voice.

"Hey!" Bat had returned with his Zubat.

Cadence peered around Palmira and smiled gratefully to Bat. The latter smiled back, avoiding Palmira's gaze.

Keiko came rushing back with a Sealeo tailing her.

Suddenly they heard the leader, Seitre, call the camp together for a meeting.

Cadence headed to gather with all the other cats, but Palmira blocked her way.

"Go back to the nursery." He sneered.

Cadence huffed and turned towards the said den.

Behind her she heard Bat call for her. Cranking her neck, she looked at him. Only to have a paw reach out of nowhere and bat at her ears.

Cadence stumbled a little, having been in an awkward position when it happened.

A soft giggle reached her ears. Looking up she saw Bat's eyes staring at her.

"Bat!" Seitre ordered. "Come here!"

Bat turned to his leader and headed in that direction.

Cadence watched him go, not making any move to enter the nursery. She took a small step closer to the entrance when the meeting caught her attention.

She saw Seitre spring down from the fallen log where he did ceremonies. Halting in front of Bat, he said, "Are you prepared for your warrior status?"

Bat swallowed and nodded shakily. Cadence wondered why he seemed scared. Seitre raised a paw and slid out one, long, curved claw.

Cadence gasped. 'He's gonna claw him?'

Bat squeezed his eyes closed as Seitre moved his paw close to the top of the left side of Bat's chest, by the shoulder.

Cadence covered her eyes with a silvery paw.

Bat bit back a yowl as his leader carved a quarter-moon shape into the spot that Seitre chose.

Cadence peeked over her paw to see dark scarlet blood well up on her friend's shoulder. She used all her will-power to not go and stop their leader.

"There." Seitre turned to Keiko, who's eyes widened.

Scout quickly went over to Bat, but was stopped by Seitre, "You know it needs to leave a scar." He said to his medicine cat. Scout dipped his head. "Of course."

Keiko started taking in deep breaths, trying to calm herself.

Seitre flexed his dripping claws. "Are you ready?"

Keiko froze for a few heartbeats and finally nodded.

Cadence couldn't tear her gaze away from the scene as her leader raised a paw. Seitre's claws came slashing down and carved a star-shaped scar on the on the opposite shoulder from Bat's. The reddish she-cat clenched her jaw, unfortunately letting a small yowl escape her.

Cadence covered her ears and dashed into the nursery. 'Palmira was right! Why didn't I listen to him?'

Upon entering she saw her brother sitting in the nest, just starring at nothing. Her mother was sitting behind him, grooming her pelt. "What's going on?" She asked, looking to Cadence.

"S-seitre is clawing the n-new warriors."

"Oh honey." Her mom said and brought her close. Cadence snuggled into her mother's fur and sighed.

xXxXx

**Okay, I'm sorry about the whole, scar thing. I'll explain it next chapter if you people want to know where it's from. Bye!**

** - ****_Jagged & Snap_**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yay! Another chapter! Thank's to all you people that reviewed! (I'll be completely honest, I'm way to lazy to check your names! Sorry!) We finally get to see Nutan's and Cadence's Pokèmons'! Please R&R! On with the story!**

XxXxX

It was a crisp, humid morning.

Cadence crouched down, taking in all of her new surroundings. The strong smell of pine sap filled her senses, blotching out all other smells.

Right now, she was looking for her own Pokémon, causing her to think back to what happened earlier that day...

She had been woken up like every morning by Nutan batting her ears.

Cadence had grumbled, wishing he would just leave her alone. Seitre had said that her and Nutan could leave the camp. But only be a real apprentice once they got their Pokémon. Simon had taken her brother to the other edge of the territory to catch his Pokémon. But before that, he told them both that you had to earn the Pokemon's trust.

Cadence shuddered, thinking of all the possible Pokémon. She didn't like Swoobats or Meowths.

How would she know the right one? At that point, a Butterfree passed by her.

Cadence stared after it. That one looks nice...

The Pokémon turned and looked at Cadence. They stared at each other for a few fleeting moments. The Butterfree finally, after a while, flew away.

Cadence was watching it go when she heard a rustle behind her.

Turning around, her paw caught a root and she fell face first into the bush the noise came from.

There was a startled squeak that slowly morphed into a low warning growl.

Looking up, she was face to face with a black and gray dog. It's red eyes were narrowed at Cadence.

It snarled and bared its yellow fangs. Cadence took a few steps backwards.

She wasn't sure if this was a Pokémon or a real animal. Cadence took one more step back and stood on something furry by accident. She twisted, wondering what it was. Only to be knocked back by a big brown paw.

"Ow!" She snapped.

The black and grey dog Pokémon warily backed up. The Ursaring growled louder a took a step towards the two. Its weight made the earth shake.

She swallowed nervously, her pelt prickling. The Poochyena's eyes widened as the Ursaring's claws started to glow as it powered up a move.

It swiped at her, claws scraping Cadence's pale pelt. She let out a yelp, falling backwards. Drops of red liquid splattered the ground. The Poochyena looked from the Ursaring to Cadence, not knowing what to do.

The silvery she-cat whimpered slightly, causing the dog Pokémon to growl at the Ursaring.

"Why are you defending that thing?" The Ursaring asked.

The Poochyena stared at the ground, thinking. Cadence stared at the canine, wondering what its response would be. Said canine looked up at the bear Pokémon, determination in it's eyes."Go away." Poochyena yipped.

"'Go away.'" The Ursaring mimicked and laughed.

"Hey."

The bear and dog pokèmons' looked at her. The two watched the she-cat pick herself up from the ground.

"Stop..." Cadence stuttered.

The Poochyena looked shocked while the Ursaring just scoffed. The she-cat reached out a shaking paw towards the Poochyena. The Pokémon stood there, not knowing what to do. Apparently it made up its mind soon, for it cautiously sniffed her paw.

Suddenly a leaf fell down from the tree branch above, landing on the Poochyena's muzzle. That caused the Pokémon to pull away from Cadence and sneeze. She flinched and wiped the spit off of her nose.

They both jumped when they heard a dry chuckle from the Ursaring.

"Just kiss already." It muttered.

They both shot a glare at the bear Pokémon.

"Cadence? Time to come back to camp!"

At the sound of her fathers voice, Cadence smiled. The Poochyena, on the other paw, cowered and began to snarl.

There was some russling and a black-pelted tom stepped into view. Cadence's gaze darted between the canine pokemon and her father. The Poochyena growled at Simon, while said cat looked ready to attack.

"Cadence, go back to camp." He repeated.

Cadence stopped her gaze on the canine and padded back in the direction of the camp.

The Poochyena whimpered at being left alone.

(LINEBREAK)

The clan cheered as Cadence was finally dubed an apprentice. Now it was Nutan's turn.

The brown tom blinked, not reacting.

He had some how, only Starclan knows, got a Metang for a Pokémon.

Cadence stood by her mentor, with her new pokèmon standing next her. She felt the slimy poultice on her side scratches.

Fabian, Cadence's mentor, looked down at the two and said, "Maybe you should go get some rest." Said two shared a glance and bowed their heads. With that, they headed for the apprentice den.

XxXxX

**That's the chapter! Snap and I would have had this up sooner, but she wasn't feelin' well!Please review! **

** -Jagged&Snap**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yay! Another chapter! Thanks to all that reviewed- Death The Kid is Neon Wish and An Odd Angel- You both have been really supportive! *hugs you both* No, on with the story! **

XxXxX

Sunlight streamed between the woven branches of the apprentice den. Cadence was curled up in a tight ball, resting besides the other apprentices. Her nose twitched as the sun rapidly began to warm her face. Her Pokèmon, a Poochyena, yawned, trying to fight off sleep.

Cadence blinked open her eyes, wincing as the light shone into them. Looking around, she saw two other apprentices in the den. The brown pelt of her brother and the black pelt of her older denmate, Nixie. However, Merzi's blue-gray pelt was missing.

She glanced around, worried. Did I miss the dawn patrol?

Getting up quickly, Cadence shook out her pelt, sending small pieces of moss everywhere. Her movement caused Nixie to shift in her sleep, her pink Corsola blinking drowsy. Cadence stiffened, not moving until the she-cat stilled.

She sighed with relief, then silently snuck out of the den, her Poochyena following closely behind.

Fabian was waiting impatiently in the clearing, his Shelgon pacing. Neither of them look pleased.

"Are you finally up?!" He snapped at Cadence once she entered the clearing.

"Yes!" She growled, not in a very good mood.

"Well thanks to you, we missed the dawn patrol!" Fabian shot back at his apprentice.

Cadence rolled her eyes. "It's my first day. What do you expect, perfection?"

Her mentor sighed, "No, but the least you could have done was wake up on time."

"For your information, my denmates are still asleep!"

Fabian deadpanned, "Really? It's almost sun-high..."

At that moment, her brother's mentor trotted up to them. "Have you seen Nutan?"

"Oh, he's still in the apprentice den, along with Nixie." Cadence replied.

Destina did a double take. "You've got to be kidding." Before Cadence could respond, Destina rushed to the apprentice den and stuck her head in.

"Nutan?" She heard her call. Rustling could be heard within the den, which suggested that said cat moved. Cadence saw Destina's tail tip flick in frustration. "Hurry up."

After a few heartbeats, she finally saw her brother being lead out of the den by a Metang. "Finally. The idiot is awake." She heard Destina mutter. Nutan just stared at a leaf, not caring for the comment.

Cadence felt her fur begin to fluff up. "Excuse me?"

"What?" Destina said, glancing her way.

"My brother is not an idiot."

"Tsk," the warrior replied, "He sure acts like one. Look." Destina poked Nutan on his side with a paw and said cat just stared at it.

Cadence pulled her lips back, revealing white teeth.

"Whatever." Destina said, "We need to go."

Fabian laid a paw on his apprentice's back. "C'mon." Cadence glared at Destina, but turned towards her mentor.

Fabian's eyes were pleading. "Just come hunting, okay?"

"Okay." Cadence finally agreed and padded outside of the camp with him. They walked in silence until they reached the desired spot.

"Now, show me a hunters crouch." Fabian demanded.

Cadence stared at him. "I don't know how."

He sighed dramatically and slipped into a beginners hunters crouch. Cadence yawned and shuffled her paws, gaze drifting to a songbird on a branch.

"Cadence!" Her mentors voice snapped her back to reality.

"Yes?"

"Are you paying attention?" Her mentor asked.

"Now I am." Cadence stated.

Fabian sighed, "Well copy me, and I'll teach you the proper way to catch prey."

She nodded curtly. "Alright."

Cadence studied him before dropping into her own hunters crouch. Fabian got to his paws and padded around her, inspecting. He put a paw on her flicking tail.

She gritted her teeth but didn't react.

"Keep it still." Fabian told her and continued his inspection. "Good." He commented, stepping back.

Cadence heard some crunching of leaves as something ran over them. She heard Fabian growl. Taking a step closer to the sound, Cadence saw amber eyes looking at her.

Bat grinned. "Wanna come patrolling with me?"

Cadence looked towards her mentor for permission. Fabian frowned, considering. Bat looked at him, narrowing his eyes.

"Alright." The golden tom consented.

Instantly, Bat grinned at Cadence. She blushed slightly, which caused her mentor to chuckle.

"Let's go!" Bat said, not noticing Cadence's blush.

She sprang up from the ground and shook out her pelt. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Good." Bat said, "We're going to the North end of the territory."

"Isn't that by the Twolegplace?"

Bat had a gleam in his eyes, "So?" He asked. "It's also the farthest place away from camp." Cadence added.

"So let's go."

Bat nodded and started to walk. After some awkward walking, Cadence decided to strike up conversation. "Nice day, Huh?"

"What? Oh, yeah. It kind of is." Bat said, looking at the sky through the trees.

She grinned, then spotted the Twolegplace. "Oh that's big!"

"Yeah-" Bat started, but was cut off by a rumbling sound. A black and yellow creature came over the hill towards them.

"B-Bat?! What's that?!' Cadence screamed.

"I don't know..." He mumbled, backing up. Cadence followed his lead, and backed up as well. As the monster snuck closer, Bat's face grew more terrified. When Cadence turned to him, Bat was running away. She rolled her eyes and dashed after him.

"What is that thing?" She asked once she caught up to Bat.

The tom shrugged. "I'm not a Twoleg, so I dunno." Cadence glanced over her shoulder at the monster. It was moving away from them, its roar lessening. Cadence and Bat slowed their pace.

"That was close."

"Yeah." Bat agreed.

Cadence began to smile and unconsciously shuffled closer to him. Bat, not noticing, looked at the sky. The silver protagonist rested her head on his shoulder and gazed at the sky too. Bat smiled, enjoying her company.

"That cloud...looks like a star..."

Bat looked at said cloud, "Yeah, it kind of does..."

'Gee, say something romantic!' She thought.

Bat sighed, not knowing what to say.

Cadence rolled her eyes. "Furball." She muttered. "Let's just watch the clouds."

"Okay." Bat said, gazing at the sky. He pointed out another cloud, "That looks like a... heart..."

Cadence closed her eyes, resting on him. She was at peace. Hanging out with Bat made her feel happy.

The flapping of wings made Cadence jolt was Bat's Zubat. And her Poochyena wasn't far behind. "You need to come back to camp." The Zubat told them. It made Bat realise how late it was. The sun was already setting. They must have been out longer than they thought.

"Okay." Cadence finally said, getting up. She was sad, though, having to leave and go back to camp.

"Let's go." Bat agreed and they headed back to camp.

XxXxX

**Yay! And that's a chapter down! Please review! And Snap and I will try to post a new chapter soon! But school does start up soon. We'll try our best!**

** -Jagged&Snap**


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